As a university student who commutes daily, I frequently encounter the challenge of navigating busy intersections as both a pedestrian and a driver. Over time, I observed that, as a pedestrian, my wait times at traffic signals often seemed significantly longer compared to those of vehicles. This observation led me to question whether pedestrians truly experience longer delays, or if the perception of extended wait times was influenced by factors such as traffic patterns or signal timings.
For my project, I aimed to investigate whether there is an actual difference in the duration of wait times for pedestrians versus vehicles at this intersection. Specifically, I sought to test whether pedestrians indeed experience longer delays when waiting for traffic signals to change, or if it is simply a subjective perception based on the time of day, traffic flow, or signal cycle.
Question: Does the duration of the traffic light cycle differ depending on whether a pedestrian presses the button or a car pulls up?
Variable of interest: Wait times at the Water and University Heights intersection in Peterborough, ON.